Duchies

This article is considered accurate for the current version of the game.

De jure duchies in 1066

Duchies are the middle level of authority, below kingdoms and above counties. They are generally held by a Duke rank character.

De jure duchies may be created or usurped by a ruler who controls at least 51% of their de jure territory. This normally costs 200 wealth, but is doubled for titular titles, and gradually halved as piety approaches 1000.

There are also many titular duchies, including most of the pagan tribes of the Baltic region as well as a few other powers like the Khazars. Rulers of mercenary companies and holy orders are also considered to be of duke level, as are all religious heads except the Papacy and Ecumenical Patriarchate.

A duchy is the highest-ranked title that may be granted to a ruler of a different type of government. Granting a duchy to a vassal burgher whose capital is coastal will create a vassal merchant republic.

Below is a list of all de jure duchies in the game, and which kingdoms and empires they belong to in 1066. While duchies can change de jure kingdom due to assimilation, the counties which belong to a duchy will never change in the course of a normal game (though modded events can change them). Likewise, all start dates have the same de jure duchy map, with two exceptions. First, in games starting in 769, the duchy of Powys contains the counties of Powys, Shrewsbury, and Hereford, while in other games, the duchy of Powys is titular, the county of Powys is in Gwynedd, and Shrewsbury and Hereford are in the duchy of Hereford. Second, in games starting between June 6, 1161 and January 1, 1285, the county of Gotland is in the duchy of Visby, while in other games, Visby is titular, and Gotland is in the duchy of Småland.

In 1066, there are 360 de jure duchies, with a mean number of counties of 3.44, and a median number of counties of 3.